Cheltenham Borough Council is expanding its collections of flexible plastics to more households, building on a trial that highlighted the challenges of finding suitable recycling outlets for the material.
Starting from today (9 November), all residents can now sign up to the borough wide kerbside plastic bags and wrapping recycling service, initially launched as a trial.
Residents are asked to sign up to participate in this new service. A pack of collection bags will be delivered to households to put old bags and wrappings in along with an instruction leaflet advising how this recycling works.
As well as, or instead of, the collection bags supplied, residents can also use their own carrier bags to recycle. Once filled bags should be tied securely. Materials that can be recycled include:
- All plastic bags (carrier bags, frozen food bags, bread bags, salad, fruit and vegetable bags, flower bags and cereal bags).
- Confectionary wrappers (chocolates, sweets, biscuits, cakes, ice cream and chewing gum wrappers).
- Foil-lined packaging (crisp packets, snack packets and coffee bags).
- Cheese, fish and meat wrapping.
- Outer layer bags and wrapping (multi-pack kitchen and toilet roll, magazine and newspaper).
- All pouches, sachets and packets (microwavable food, baby food, pet food, cosmetics, detergent and cleaning pouches).
- Plastic film and sleeves (removable film lids and plastic sleeves for bottles and jars).
- Bubble wrap and cling film.
- Fruit and vegetable nets.
Cllr Steve Harvey, cabinet member for waste and recycling and parks, gardens and green open space, said: “For residents, this is about making recycling simpler, more convenient and more effective while at the same time reducing the need to make more new plastics with all those associated costs to the environment.
“We are particularly proud to not only be one of the first authorities to sign up to the FlexCollect trial in 2022 but to also be among the first authorities to introduce this enhanced service borough wide – more than three years ahead of the government’s extended deadline. It demonstrates our commitment to this agenda and most importantly, it gives our residents an easier way to play their part in protecting the environment.”
End markets
Cheltenham was one of the local authorities involved in the national FlexCollect project, which began in October 2022 and was delivered in partnership with SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK.
The project explored how flexible plastics could be collected separately and processed into new products, rather than being sent for disposal.
Suez’s final FlexCollect report, published in September 2025, identified several companies involved in processing material collected during the trials.
These included Jayplas, which received 267 tonnes of flexible plastics for processing at its Smethwick facility. The material was sorted into polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), washed and turned into recycled pellets for use in new plastic products, including film.
Other companies involved in the trials included Meplas and Plastecowood, which explored routes for turning flexible packaging into recycled film and plastic lumber.
However, the report also highlighted a shortage of domestic processing capacity, warning that the UK did not have sufficient end-market infrastructure to handle the expected growth in flexible plastic collections.
It found that gate fees paid to recycling outlets ranged from £80 to more than £1,000 per tonne, with £650 per tonne the most commonly reported figure during the project.
SUEZ said additional mechanical and chemical recycling capacity would be needed to support wider collections, with spare capacity elsewhere in Europe potentially helping to meet demand.
It is not yet clear which companies will receive the flexible plastics collected through Cheltenham’s expanded service, or whether the material will be processed in the UK or exported.
The council’s published information identifies Jayplas, Biffa, Pro Environmental and Roydon as recipients of its wider plastics recycling, but does not confirm whether they are also involved in the flexible plastics service.
The expansion comes ahead of the government’s planned introduction of mandatory flexible plastic collections in England in April 2030.